Urban Allies

June 13, 2016
An all-star roster of 20 urban fantasy authors headlines this collection of 10 crossover adventures, each of which sees two writers pitting their signature heroes against shared threats. Verity Price from Seanan McGuire’s InCryptid series encounters Elena Michaels from Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld while both are investigating mysterious events in the woods. Jonathan Maberry’s Capt. Joe Ledger teams up with Larry Correia’s Special Agent Franks to fight demons in the Middle East. C.E. Murphy’s Joanne Walker runs into Kat Richardson’s Harper Blaine while checking out a haunted house. The reasons for each team-up and the methods by which it’s accomplished vary from one story to the next (and are often awkward). Each work stands on its own, acting as an introduction to the characters and their respective concepts. Nassise (Midian Unmade) has assembled an admirable group of contributors who do a good if sometimes uneven job of blending both styles and toy boxes. The tales lean more toward the darker fantasy or horror end of the spectrum, making for an occasionally gory spectacle. Readers will undoubtedly get a kick out of seeing their favorite heroes solving cases together and will enjoy being introduced to new characters and settings.

Starred review from July 1, 2016

These ten shared stories brings together the work of 20 different authors. "Ladies' Fight" matches up Caitlin Kittredge's hellhound Ava and reaper Leo with Jaye Wells's Chosen, Sabina Kane, her partner Adam, and demon Giguhl as they search for the Grim Reaper's scythe. In "Tailed," Seanan McGuire's Verity Price hunts a cryptid poacher and discovers a werewolf with her kids and Kelley Armstrong's Elena, Kate, and Logan. More pairings of fan-favorite characters, including Peter Octavian and Dahlia Lynley-Chivers, and Joe Ledger and Kitty Norville, bring fresh outings and fun crossovers sure to delight many readers. VERDICT This anthology highlights incredible authors and their best lead protagonists. Readers will devour these stories, which answer the question many fans pose: "What if these two characters met?"--KC

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2016
Authors such as Kelley Armstrong, Charlaine Harris, Caitlin Kittredge, and Jonathan Maberry combine their distinctive talents in this unique collection, where 20 best-selling urban-fantasy authors teamed up on 10 original short stories featuring their series characters. It is unfortunate that the first two stories in the collection, Ladies' Fight and Tailed, are the weakest. These stories, instead of feeling like a collaboration between authors, are instead two worlds awkwardly mashed together. Luckily, the collection improves from there. Pig Roast is a fun, fast-paced read, while The Lessons of Room 19 is both a creepy read and a smart commentary on the haunting nature of grief. Blood for Blood introduces Peter Octavian to Dahlia Lynley-Chivers, and their dangerous adventure will have readers flipping the pages. Once readers arrive at Spite House, they will wonder how it is possible that Seattle PIs Harper Blaine and Joanne Walker have never met before. Most of the stories serve as a nice introduction to these individual series and will send readers unfamiliar with these characters back to library shelves to find the backlist. Recommended for fantasy collections.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)